Magick 102

Okay, so we've defined magick. I would take you through some traditional systems of magick, however what I think would be more interesting is to look at the different models of magick.

The Different models of magick:

1. The Spirit Model

2. The Energy Model

3. The Psychological Model

The Spirit model

This is purportedly the oldest model of magic though it may very well have come into existence after or simultaneously with the energy model. We can find it worldwide in shamanic cultures as well as in many religions. Its basic premise is the existence of an otherworld inhabited by more or less autonomous entities such as spirits, angels, demons, gods etc. The shaman or magician is someone who can enter this otherworld at will, who has travelled widely in it, knows its language and customs and has made friends, smitten enemies and/or acquired allies and servitors there. This is important as all magic is of these entities' making. The modern German word for witch, "Hexe" (f.) illustrates this rather neatly if we take a closer look at its etymology. It derives from Old High German "hagazussa" which translates as "fence rider". The hagazussa is riding the "fence between the worlds" i.e. she is at home in the world of everyday life as well as in the magical otherworld of spirits.
In the spirit model magic is seen as being effected by these entities who are usually invisible, at least to the average punter, and it is the shaman's or magician's task to make them put his will into effect. This may be done by prayer, by barter, by cajoling or even - vide medieval demon magic - by the application of magical force, threats and pressure.

The otherworld may have its own geography but it is usually considered to coexist with the world of everyday life. The key to entering it is an altered state of consciousness, controlled trance or ecstasy of which the shaman is an expert.

The Energy Model

The rise of the energy model in the West is marked primarily by the appearance of Mesmerism towards the end of the 18th century. Anton Mesmer, who was not an occultist but who was on the other hand regarded by his contemporaries to be a "miracle worker" of sorts, rediscovered amongst other things the ancient healing disciplines of hypnosis and magnetism. He popularized his theory of "animal magnetism" which he saw as a subtle force inherent in organisms, but he also made heavy use of metal magnets for healing purposes.
While the French Revolution put a temporary end to Mesmer's movement, his ideas were not lost. They were taken up by a number of others, primarily occultists, who drew on them while developing their own theories of magic. One of the first to do so was Bulwer Lytton of the Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia (SRIA), who postulated the existence of a subtle energy which he termed Vril, possibly deriving from Latin virilitas or "force, power, strength". (This was actually the model for the naming of Bovril, from Latin "bovis" or "ox", and Vril or "life force".) We can observe interesting parallels to this concept in the vitalist theories of biology which emerged around the same time. Other exponents of the energy model of magic (not then so termed) were Reichenbach with his concept of Od, Eliphas Levi and his Astral Light and Mme. Blavatsky, who adopted the theories of Prana from Yoga physiology. This was also the time when anthropology and ethnology discovered the Polynesian concept of Mana and Asiatic scholars began to concern themselves with the Chinese principle of Ki or Ch'i (Chi). The latter two go to show, of course, that the idea of subtle energies utilized by magic is far older than the 18th century. In fact, we can observe it already in early shamanic cultures. Shamanic magic is very frequently a mixture between spirit and energy model, e.g. the shaman may call upon his spirits or gods to give him "power" or he may, vice versa, use his power to extort favours from them.

In its pure form, however, the shaman or magician is not in need of spirits and other entities. The world is viewed as being "vitalized" by subtle forces or energies and his primary task consists in mastering the art of perceiving and manipulating them. As all phenomena are basically energetic in nature, the existence of an otherworld is not strictly required. Thus, the magician is more of an "energy dancer" than a "fence rider" or go-between. But even here the key to the perception, charging and general utilization of these forces is again the magical trance or, as Chaos Magic terms it, gnosis.

Theories and practices pertaining to the energy model can be found with many magical authors but it has seen its real, large scale popularity only since the seventies of our century when the general influx of Eastern thinking (pace the Hippie movement) made concepts such as chakra and kundalini work a mainstay of most occult disciplines. Strong energy model elements can also be found in Franz Bardon's system of "electromagnetic fluids", "condensators" etc

The Psychological Model

Sigmund Freud's theory of the subconscious revolutionized Western thinking in general and psychology (which he did not, as some people are wont to believe, invent all by himself) in particular. Suddenly, man was seen as a being which was only partially conscious and in control of itself. While psychology is still fighting for its academical recognition as a science, it has stamped its mark on therapeutic disciplines - and on magic.
The psychological model of magic does not purport to explain how magic works, its only premise is that the subconscious (or, as Carl Jung later retagged it, the unconscious) will do the job if it is properly addressed and/or conditioned. This again is achieved by magical trance, suggestion and the use of symbols (i.e. selective sensory input) as tools of association and as a means of communication between the magician's conscious will and his subconscious faculty responsible for putting it into effect.

Aleister Crowley dabbled a great deal in the psychological model which comes as no surprise as he not only tried to keep up with all major academic disciplines of his time but thought himself to be the world's greatest psychologist into the bargain. But all considered he remained a traditionalist exponent of the spirit model: after all Aiwass was, in his belief, a praeternatural entity. Nevertheless he did have a knack of explaining magic in psychological terms to make it sound sensible to the sceptics of his time.

A more radical approach was taken by Austin Osman Spare whose sigil magic rests on the basic tenets of the psychological model. Spare's brilliant system is in principle an inversion of Freud's theory of complexes: by actively suppressing his will in the form of a graphical sigil and forgetting it, the magician creates an artificial "complex" which then starts to work on similar lines just as suppressed, subconscious traumas will cause neurotic behaviour etc.

The psychological magician is a programmer of symbols and different states of consciousness. He is not necessarily in need of a transcendent otherworld or even subtle energies, though in practice he will usually work on the assumption that one or the other (or both) do in fact exist and can be utilized by his subconscious.

Authors such as Israel Regardie, Dion Fortune, William Butler, Francis King, William Gray and to some extent Pete Carroll subscribe to the psychological model which seems to be the primary domain of the English speaking world of magic and which has become the prevailing paradigm ever since the seventies of this century.

I hope this has been interesting, in Magick 103 we'll be talking about how all these models of magick work.